Lawrence - Fire officials say a fire that destroyed a Boy Scout training center was caused by spontaneous combustion.
The fire at the Center for Volunteer Training at Camp Belzer last month was ignited by used buffer pads and cleaning clothes in a trash can. The pads were used by a group of adult Scout volunteers, who were refinishing floors at the center the day before. The floors were primed with a stripping product and the steel wool buffer pads, which spontaneously ignited in the trash.
"It was spontaneous combustion," said LFD Deputy Chief Dino Batalis. "A breakdown in chemicals that produced heat and it ignited a source around it."
Since no one was in the building at the time, the fire spread quickly.
Lawrence Fire officials say the product and processes used to clean the floor "have been used without incident since the facility opened in 2003."
Investigators say simply reading the directions on chemicals you use can help prevent a fire like the one at the camp.
"Read the product you are using. Right on the product that they were using, it says, 'Do not put in a closed container, because it will spontaneously combust'," said Lawrence Fire Investigator Lt. Brian Millard.
The chemical they were using is called "Duraseal renovator," similar to those cleaning agents on the shelf at a local hardware store. Professionals generally know how to handle the chemicals, but volunteers or homeowners may not.
"Generally, a homeowner is not going to have a commercial oil waste container for rags, so generally, you take them outside, get them away from the structure and let them evaporate so you don't get that spontaneous combustion," said Pat Sullivan at Sullivan's Hardware.
The Boy Scouts say they are fully insured and will start demolishing the damaged building with hopes of rebuilding as soon as possible.
